Murray becomes first female president pro tempore in Senate
When Washington Sen. Patty Murray was elected to the Senate in 1992, she says, male senators treated her with some trepidation. But now she has outlasted almost all of them, becoming the first woman appointed president pro tempore — a senior member of the majority who presides over the Senate and is third in line to the presidency. Murray, 72, says she sees her own ascension to the post as another example of the slow, steady progress of women in the perpetually old-fashioned Senate — not only as an example for young people, but as a platform for women’s issues, like paid leave and child care, that she has championed for years. She first ran as a self-proclaimed “mom in tennis shoes,” and she still wears them to this day, as a grandmother. Continue reading at Associated Press. (Jacquelyn Martin)

Economic downturn anxieties lead Washington lawmakers to ask: To tax or not to tax?
A debate is brewing in Olympia over how to prepare for a potential economic downturn. “Looking forward we still have a very robust economy, it’s the envy of the United States, we still have gangbuster industries doing very, very well and I believe there is a reason that that will continue,” Inslee said while speaking with TVW’s Austin Jenkins. Inslee’s budget is a 12% increase over current spending, despite anxieties over inflation and economic downturns. But the governor says the state also has $2 billion in reserves as a cushion. He further argues that the state plans to give a tax break to some residents (the Working Family Tax credit), but no general tax cuts. Also, the state still has considerable issues to address, which “demand investments.” Continue reading at KUOW. (NW News Network)

WA scores in federal omnibus spending bill
In a mad rush before the end of the year, Congress finally passed an omnibus federal spending bill. Washington’s congressional delegation made sure that important projects around the Puget Sound will receive a federal financial boost, to the tune of $44 million. More than a quarter of that money will fund health care and child development. Pierce County will get help for its homeless residents. Transportation on land and at sea will improve. And there are grants for environmental restoration and economic development, too. Washington will be in line for even more federal support for the next few years. Sen. Patty Murray will chair the budget-writing Senate Appropriations Committee. Continue reading at Seattle Times. (J. Scott Applewhite)